Mascoma High girls basketball will have a new face running the place this winter, as Kelsey Hardy has been hired to lead the program next season.
Hardy, a 2009 Lebanon High graduate who coached junior varsity basketball and soccer at her alma mater, replaces Mark Rockwood, who took over the program in 2024.
The Royals had just one win in Rockwood’s first season but improved significantly in 2025, posting seven wins and making the playoffs before Prospect Mountain knocked them out in the first round of the NHIAA Division III tournament.
“I’m really excited about it,” Hardy said. “It seems like a wonderful community, and I’m really excited for the opportunity to work with these young women.”
Hardy was the right fit for Mascoma athletic director Stephen Stebbins, especially since his new head coach built an almost immediate rapport with some of the players during the interview process.
“She has, I think, a good background working with people of all ages and so, just that interpersonal skills that she possesses, I think is going to bring her a long way,” Stebbins said.
Stebbins also took real stock in Hardy’s background in basketball.
Hardy played at Lebanon under longtime Raider coach Tim Kehoe, who won five NHIAA state titles over 29 seasons before retiring in 2020. She also had the opportunity to coach alongside him.
“She’s been around good basketball coaching,” Stebbins said, noting that she Hardy played and coached under the Royals’ new girls soccer coach, Shannon Gould, who has coached that sport for more than 30 years.
“She’s been around some really high-level coaching and really learning, both as a JV coach and a player,” he added.
That said, this will be Hardy’s first kick of the can as a varsity head coach — but she says she is ready for the role.
“I’m sure that I’ll learn a lot and I have a lot to learn — I think everybody learns best by experience, so I’m looking forward to that,” she said. “I do feel confident in my ability to coach the soft skills that really matter.
“I have a lot of experience in education and working with people and families and children of all ages and am confident in my ability to motivate, to help the girls with all sorts of things that they might need.”
Looking ahead to this winter, Hardy — who still plays basketball herself as part of a men’s league — will emphasize developing her players.
“I think that hard work and a willingness to be dedicated and try your best and build your resiliency skills are really the most important things,” Hardy said. “So, for me, I’m just looking forward to helping them grow as individuals and do the best that they can.”
